In part one of this blog, we discussed why Microsoft Power BI is a superior data analysis and reporting platform for MEDITECH Data Repository compared to SQL Server Reporting Services. In this second part, we continue by reviewing the user presentation and interactivity experience.

The User Experience

Initially both SSRS and Power BI are similar in that they're both browser-based report viewers. While the familiar SSRS web portal is almost always hosted by an on-premises web server, the Power BI service is cloud-first and hosted by Microsoft with your organization's M365 account.

Where things start to differ between SSRS and Power BI is how the reports are executed and how we interact with them. With SSRS, if the report has parameters, you have to specify them and click "View Report," which in turn calls the SQL stored procedure to produce the report dataset and the finished report. In other words, you have to wait for the process to run before it presents any data. If you subsequently change one of those parameters, the report re-executes and you have to wait at least a few seconds (sometimes longer) for the report to completely refresh.

The Power BI experience is different. After selecting a report, it presents immediately. While Power BI doesn't accept SQL parameters like SSRS, it uses "slicers" that allow users to pick from lists and pass values to filter the report. When you select or change any of the slicers, the report and all its visualizations change immediately: charts are changed, matrices updated with new totals, etc.

This is all made possible by a fundamental difference in Power BI: by default, the report data are stored with the report itself. Power BI caches the data with the report definition (called the semantic model after it's published to the Power BI service) so when a user interacts with the report, they immediately see how their selections affect other visualizations on the report.

In Power BI, a visualization is any object on the page that presents data: tables, matrices, charts, and much more. Visualizations in Power BI are dynamic and interactive by default: click a subtotal in a matrix, a slice from a pie chart, etc. and all the other related visuals on the report change to reflect what you've selected. Instantly. It's this type of interactivity that truly elevates Power BI over SSRS, and enables true user self-service analytics.

Beyond the report presentation and interactivity differences, Power BI has other features that elevate it beyond simple report presentation. Design elements include easy drilling up and down data hierarchies, drill-through capability, programmable buttons for page navigation, and even embedded Microsoft Power Apps. Microsoft really has done a great job of providing the capability for users to have an application-like experience, not just view static reports.

Summary

Microsoft Power BI is the best analytics solution for MEDITECH hospitals. Starting with Data Repository, but easily incorporating data from many disparate data sources too. If you have a deep library of SQL Server Reporting Services reports already, don't be deterred: many of them can be re-designed to work better with Power BI. For those that need to remain as a paginated report (tabular design, optimized for printing), those can be published in Power BI too, or co-exist in SSRS alongside Power BI.

Read more of our Power BI Advisor blogs. See what Power BI-based solution Acmeware is offering our clients.